Myths-Dreams-Symbols"Eternal truth needs a human language that alters with the spirit of the times" ....Carl Jung

By Frances Flannery-Dailey, Hendrix College
and
Rachel Wagner, The University of Iowa

Abstract

[1] The Wachowski
brothers' 1999 hit release The Matrix draws
on multiple religious traditions to establish its
complex worldview. Two of the most prominent are
Gnostic Christianity and Buddhism, which, like the
film, pose humanity's fundamental problem and its
solution in terms of ignorance and enlightenment.
Because of ignorance, people mistake the
"material" world for something real, but
they may "wake up" from this dream with
help from a guide who teaches them their true nature.
This article explores the film's pervasive allusions
to Gnosticism and Buddhism, which in turn opens up
the question of the film's overarching message and ultimate
view of reality.

Article

[2] In The Matrix, a
1999 film by the Wachowski brothers, a black-clad
computer hacker known as Neo falls asleep in front of his
computer. A mysterious message appears on the screen:
"Wake up, Neo."1 This
succinct phrase encapsulates the plot of the film, as Neo
struggles with the problem of being imprisoned in a
"material" world that is actually a computer
simulation program created in the distant future by
Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) as a means of enslaving
humanity, by perpetuating ignorance in the form of an
illusory perception called "the matrix." In
part, the film crafts its ultimate view of reality by
alluding to numerous religious traditions that advance
the idea that the fundamental problem which humanity
faces is ignorance and the solution is knowledge or
awakening. Two religious traditions on which the film
draws heavily are Gnostic Christianity and Buddhism.2 Although these traditions differ in important
ways, they agree in maintaining that the problem of
ignorance can be solved through an individual's
reorientation of perspective concerning the material
realm.3 Gnostic Christianity and Buddhism also both
envision a guide who helps those still trapped in the
limiting world of illusion, a Gnostic redeemer figure or
a bodhisattva, who willingly enters that world in
order to share liberating knowledge, facilitating escape
for anyone able to understand. In the film, this figure
is Neo, whose name is also an anagram for "the
One."

[3] Although as a
"modern myth"4
the film purposefully
draws on numerous traditions,5 we
propose that an examination of Gnostic Christianity and
Buddhism well illuminates the overarching paradigm of The
Matrix, namely, the problem of sleeping in ignorance
in a dreamworld, solved by waking to knowledge or
enlightenment. By drawing syncretistically on these two
ancient traditions and fusing them with a technological
vision of the future, the film constructs a new teaching
that challenges its audience to question
"reality."

Christian
Elements inThe Matrix

[4] The majority of the
film's audience probably easily recognizes the presence
of some Christian elements, such as the name Trinity6 or Neo's death and Christ-like resurrection and
ascension near the end of the film. In fact, Christian
and biblical allusions abound, particularly with respect
to nomenclature:7 Apoc (Apocalypse), Neo's given name of Mr.
Ander/son (from the Greek andras for man, thus
producing "Son of Man"), the ship named the
Nebuchadnezzar (the Babylonian king who, in the Book of
Daniel, has puzzling symbolic dreams that must be
interpreted),8 and the last remaining human city, Zion,
synonymous in Judaism and Christianity with (the
heavenly) Jerusalem.9 Neo is overtly constructed as a Jesus figure:
he is "the One" who was prophesied to return
again to the Matrix, who has the power the change the
Matrix from within (i.e., to work miracles), who battles
the representatives of evil and who is killed but comes
to life again.

[5] This construction of
Neo as Jesus is reinforced in numerous ways. Within
minutes of the commencement of the movie, another hacker
says to Neo, "You're my saviour, man, my own
personal Jesus Christ."10 This
identification is also suggested by the Nebuchadnezzar's
crew, who nervously wonder if he is "the One"
who was foretold, and who repeatedly swear in Neo's
presence by saying "Jesus" or "Jesus
Christ."11 In still another example, Neo enters the
Nebuchadnezzar for the first time and the camera pans
across the interior of the ship, resting on the make:
"Mark III no. 11." This seems to be another
messianic reference, since the Gospel of Mark 3:11 reads:
"Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell
down before him and shouted, ' You are the Son of
God!'"

Gnosticism
in The Matrix

[6] Although the presence
of individual Christian elements within the film is
clear, the overall system of Christianity that is
presented is not the traditional, orthodox one. Rather,
the Christian elements of the film make the most sense
when viewed within a context of Gnostic Christianity.12 Gnosticism was a religious system that
flourished for centuries at the beginning of the Common
Era, and in many regions of the ancient Mediterranean
world it competed strongly with "orthodox"
Christianity, while in other areas it represented the
only interpretation of Christianity that was known.13 The Gnostics possessed their own Scriptures,
accessible to us in the form of the Nag Hammadi Library,
from which a general sketch of Gnostic beliefs may be
drawn.14 Although Gnostic Christianity comprises many
varieties, Gnosticism as a whole seems to have embraced
an orienting cosmogonic myth that explains the true
nature of the universe and humankind's proper place in
it.15 A brief retelling of this myth illuminates
numerous parallels with The Matrix.

[7] In the Gnostic myth,
the supreme god is completely perfect and therefore alien
and mysterious, "ineffable,"
"unnamable," "immeasurable light which is
pure, holy and immaculate" (Apocryphon of John). In
addition to this god there are other, lesser divine
beings in the pleroma (akin to heaven, a division of the
universe that is not earth), who possess some
metaphorical gender of male or female.16 Pairs of these beings are able to produce
offspring that are themselves divine emanations, perfect
in their own ways.17 A problem arises when one "aeon" or
being named Sophia (Greek for wisdom), a female, decides
"to bring forth a likeness out of herself without
the consent of the Spirit," that is, to produce an
offspring without her consort (Apocry. of John).
The ancient view was that females contribute the matter
in reproduction, and males the form; thus, Sophia's
action produces an offspring that is imperfect or even
malformed, and she casts it away from the other divine
beings in the pleroma into a separate region of the
cosmos. This malformed, ignorant deity, sometimes named
Yaldaboath, mistakenly believes himself to be the only
god.

[8] Gnostics identify
Yaldabaoth as the Creator God of the Old Testament, who
himself decides to create archons (angels), the material
world (earth) and human beings. Although traditions vary,
Yaldabaoth is usually tricked into breathing the divine
spark or spirit of his mother Sophia that formerly
resided in him into the human being (especially Apocry.
of John; echoes of Genesis 2-3). Therein lies the
human dilemma. We are pearls in the mud, a divine spirit
(good) trapped in a material body (bad) and a material
realm (bad). Heaven is our true home, but we are in exile
from the pleroma.

[9] Luckily for the
Gnostic, salvation is available in the form of gnosis or
knowledge imparted by a Gnostic redeemer, who is Christ,
a figure sent from the higher God to free humankind from
the Creator God Yaldabaoth. The gnosis involves an
understanding of our true nature and origin, the
metaphysical reality hitherto unknown to us, resulting in
the Gnostic's escape (at death) from the enslaving
material prison of the world and the body, into the upper
regions of spirit. However, in order to make this ascent,
the Gnostic must pass by the archons, who are jealous of
his/her luminousity, spirit or intelligence, and who thus
try to hinder the Gnostic's upward journey.

[10] To a significant
degree, the basic Gnostic myth parallels the plot of The
Matrix, with respect to both the problem that humans
face as well as the solution. Like Sophia, we
conceived an offspring out of our own pride, as Morpheus
explains: "early in the 21st century, all
of mankind was united in celebration. We marveled at our
own magnificence as we gave birth to A.I."18 This offspring of ours, however, like
Yaldabaoth is malformed (matter without spirit?).
Morpheus describes A.I. as "a singular
consciousness that spawned an entire race of
machines," a fitting parallel for the Gnostic
Creator God of the archons (angels) and the illusory
material world. A.I. creates the matrix, a computer
simulation that is "a prison for your mind."
Thus, Yaldabaoth/ A.I. traps humankind in a material
prison that does not represent ultimate reality, as
Morpheus explains to Neo: "As long as the matrix
exists, the human race will never be free."

[11] The film also echoes
the metaphorical language employed by Gnostics. The Nag
Hammadi texts describe the fundamental human problem in
metaphorical terms of blindness, sleep, ignorance, dreams
and darkness / night, while the solution is stated in
terms of seeing, waking, knowledge (gnosis), waking from
dreams and light / day.19

[12] Similarly, in the
film Morpheus, whose name is taken from the Greek god of
sleep and dreams, reveals to Neo that the matrix is
"a computer generated dreamworld." When Neo is
unplugged and awakens for the first time on the
Nebuchadnezzar in a brightly lit white space (a cinematic
code for heaven), his eyes hurt, as Morpheus explains,
because he has never used them. Everything Neo has
"seen" up to that point was seen with the
mind's eye, as in a dream, created through software
simulation. Like an ancient Gnostic, Morpheus explains
that the blows he deals Neo in the martial arts training
program have nothing to do with his body or speed or
strength, which are illusory. Rather, they depend only on
his mind, which is real.

[13] The parallels between
Neo and Christ sketched earlier are further illuminated
by a Gnostic context, since Neo is "saved"
through gnosis or secret knowledge, which he
passes on to others. Neo learns about the true structure
of reality and about his own true identity, which allows
him to break the rules of the material world he now
perceives to be an illusion. That is, he learns that
"the mind makes it [the matrix, the material world]
real," but it is not ultimately real. In the final
scene of the film, it is this gnosis that Neo
passes on to others in order to free them from the prison
of their minds, the matrix. He functions as a Gnostic
Redeemer, a figure from another realm who enters the
material world in order to impart saving knowledge about
humankind's true identity and the true structure of
reality, thereby setting free anyone able to understand
the message.

[14] In fact, Neo's given
name is not only Mr. Anderson / the Son of Man, it is Thomas
Anderson, which reverberates with the most famous
Gnostic gospel, the Gospel of Thomas. Also, before
he is actualized as Neo (the one who will initiate
something "New," since he is indeed the
"One"), he is doubting Thomas, who does not
believe in his role as the redeemer figure.20 In fact, the name Thomas means "the
Twin," and in ancient Christian legend he is Jesus'
twin brother. In a sense, the role played by Keanu Reeves
has a twin character, since he is constructed as both a
doubting Thomas and as a Gnostic Christ figure.21

[15] Not only does Neo
learn and pass on secret knowledge that saves, in good
Gnostic fashion, but the way in which he learns
also evokes some elements of Gnosticism. Imbued with
images from eastern traditions, the training programs
teach Neo the concept of "stillness," of
freeing the mind and overcoming fear, cinematically
captured in "Bullet Time" (digitally mastered
montages of freeze frames / slow motion frames using
multiple cameras).22 Interestingly enough, this concept of
"stillness" is also present in Gnosticism, in
that the higher aeons are equated with
"stillness" and "rest" and can only
be apprehended in such a centered and meditative manner,
as is apparent in these instructions to a certain
Allogenes:

And although it is
impossible for you to stand, fear nothing; but
if you wish to stand, withdraw to the Existence, and you
will find it standing and at rest after the
likeness of the One who is truly at rest...And
when you becomes perfect in that place, still
yourself... (Allogenes)

[16] The Gnostic then
reveals, "There was within me a stillness of
silence, and I heard the Blessedness whereby I knew my
proper self" (Allogenes).23 When Neo
realizes the full extent of his "saving
gnosis," that the matrix is only a dreamworld, a
reflective Keanu Reeves silently and calmly contemplates
the bullets that he has stopped in mid-air, filmed in
"Bullet Time."

[17] Yet another parallel
with Gnosticism occurs in the portrayal of the agents
such as Agent Smith, and their opposition to the
equivalent of the Gnostics - that is, Neo and anyone else
attempting to leave the matrix. A.I. created these
artificial programs to be "the gatekeepers - they
are guarding all the doors, they are holding all the
keys." These agents are akin to the jealous archons
created by Yaldabaoth who block the ascent of the Gnostic
as he/she tries to leave the material realm and guard the
gates of the successive levels of heaven (e.g., Apocalypse
of Paul).24

[18] However, as Morpheus
predicts, Neo is eventually able to defeat the agents
because while they must adhere to the rules of the
matrix, his human mind allows him to bend or break
these rules.25 Mind, though, is not equated in the film merely
with rational intelligence, otherwise Artificial
Intelligence would win every time. Rather, the concept of
"mind" in the film appears to point to a
uniquely human capacity for imagination, for intuition,
or, as the phrase goes, for "thinking outside the
box." Both the film and the Gnostics assert that the
"divine spark" within humans allows a
perception of gnosis greater than that achievable
by even the chief archon / agent of Yaldabaoth:

And the power of the
mother [Sophia, in our analogy, humankind] went out
of Yaltabaoth [ A.I. ] into the natural body which
they had fashioned [the humans grown on farms by
A.I.]... And in that moment the rest of the powers
[archons / agents ] became jealous, because he had
come into being through all of them and they had
given their power to the man, and his intelligence
["mind"] was greater than that of those who
had made him, and greater than that of the chief
archon [Agent Smith?]. And when they recognized that he
was luminous,and that he could think better than they...
they took him and threw him into the lowest region of
all matter [simulated by the matrix]. (Apocry. of
John 19-20)

[19] It is striking that
Neo overcomes Agent Smith in the final showdown of the
film precisely by realizing fully the illusion of the
matrix, something the agent apparently cannot do, since
Neo is subsequently able to break rules that the agent
cannot. His final defeat of Smith entails entering
Smith's body and splitting him in pieces by means of pure
luminosity, portrayed through special effects as light
shattering Smith from the inside out.

[20] Overall, then, the
system portrayed in The Matrix parallels Gnostic
Christianity in numerous respects, especially the
delineation of humanity's fundamental problem of existing
in a dreamworld that simulates reality and the solution
of waking up from illusion. The central mythic figures of
Sophia, Yaldabaoth, the archons and the Gnostic Christ
redeemer also each find parallels with key figures in the
film and function in similar ways. The language of
Gnosticism and the film are even similar: dreaming vs.
waking; blindness vs. seeing;26 light
vs. dark.27

[21] However, given that
Gnosticism presumes an entire unseen realm of divine
beings, where is God in the film? In other words, when
Neo becomes sheer light, is this a symbol for divinity,
or for human potential? The question becomes even more
pertinent with the identification of humankind with
Sophia - a divine being in Gnosticism. On one level,
there appears to be no God in the film. Although there
are apocalyptic motifs, Conrad Ostwalt rightly argues
that unlike conventional Christian apocalypses, in The
Matrix both the catastrophe and its solution are of
human making - that is, the divine is not apparent.28 However, on another level, the film does open
up the possibility of a God through the figure of
the Oracle, who dwells inside the matrix and yet has
access to information about the future that even those
free from the matrix do not possess. This suggestion is
even stronger in the original screenplay, in which the
Oracle's apartment is the Holy of Holies nested within
the "Temple of Zion."29 Divinity
may also play a role in Neo's past incarnation and his
coming again as the One. If, however, there is
some implied divinity in the film,30 it
remains transcendent, like the divinity of the ineffable,
invisible supreme god in Gnosticism, except where it
is immanent in the form of the divine spark active in
humans.31

Buddhism in
The Matrix

[22] When asked by a fan
if Buddhist ideas influenced them in the production of
the movie, the Wachowski brothers offered an unqualified
"Yes."32 Indeed, Buddhist ideas pervade the film and
appear in close proximity with the equally strong
Christian imagery. Almost immediately after Neo is
identified as "my own personal Jesus Christ,"
this appellation is given a distinctively Buddhist twist.
The same hacker says: "This never happened. You
dont exist." From the stupa-like33 pods which encase humans in the horrific
mechanistic fields to Cyphers selfish desire for
the sensations and pleasures of the matrix, Buddhist
teachings form a foundation for much of the films
plot and imagery.34

[23] The Problem of
Samsara. Even the title of the film evokes the
Buddhist worldview. The matrix is described by Morpheus
as "a prison for your mind." It is a dependent
"construct" made up of the interlocking digital
projections of billions of human beings who are unaware
of the illusory nature of the reality in which they live
and are completely dependent on the hardware attached to
their real bodies and the elaborate software programs
created by A.I. This "construct" resembles the
Buddhist idea of samsara, which teaches that the
world in which we live our daily lives is constructed
only from the sensory projections formulated from our own
desires. When Morpheus takes Neo into the
"construct" to teach him about the matrix, Neo
learns that the way in which he had perceived himself in
the matrix was nothing more than "the mental
projection of your digital self." The
"real" world, which we associate with what we
feel, smell, taste, and see, "is simply electrical
signals interpreted by your brain." The world,
Morpheus explains, exists "now only as part of a
neural interactive simulation that we call the
matrix." In Buddhist terms, we could say that
"because it is empty of self or of what belongs to
self, it is therefore said: The world is
empty. And what is empty of self and what belongs
to self? The eye, material shapes, visual consciousness,
impression on the eye -- all these are empty of self and
of what belongs to self."35
According to Buddhism and according to The Matrix,
the conviction of reality based upon sensory experience,
ignorance, and desire keeps humans locked in illusion
until they are able to recognize the false nature of
reality and relinquish their mistaken sense of identity.

[24] Drawing upon the
Buddhist doctrine of Dependent Co-Origination, the film
presents reality within the matrix as a conglomerate of
the illusions of all humans caught within its snare.
Similarly, Buddhism teaches that the suffering of human
beings is dependent upon a cycle of ignorance and desire
which locks humans into a repetitive cycle of birth,
death, and rebirth. The principle is stated in a short
formula in the Samyutta-nikaya:

If this is that
comes to be;
from the arising of this that arises;
if this is not that does not come to be;
from the stopping of this that is stopped.36

[25] The idea of Dependent
Co-Origination is illustrated in the context of the film
through the illusion of the matrix. The viability of the
matrixs illusion depends upon the belief by those
enmeshed in it that the matrix itself is reality.
A.I.s software program is, in and of itself, no
illusion at all. Only when humans interact with
its programs do they become enmeshed in a
corporately-created illusion, the matrix, or samsara,
which reinforces itself through the interactions of those
beings involved within it. Thus the matrixs reality
only exists when actual human minds subjectively
experience its programs.37

[26] The problem, then,
can be seen in Buddhist terms. Humans are trapped in a
cycle of illusion, and their ignorance of this cycle
keeps them locked in it, fully dependent upon their own
interactions with the program and the illusions of
sensory experience which these provide, and the sensory
projections of others. These projections are strengthened
by humans enormous desire to believe that what they
perceive to be real is in fact real. This desire is so
strong that it overcomes Cypher, who can no longer
tolerate the "desert of the real" and asks to
be reinserted into the matrix. As he sits with Agent
Smith in an upscale restaurant smoking a cigar with a
large glass of brandy, Cypher explains his motives:

"You know, I
know this steak doesnt exist. I know that
when I put it in my mouth, the matrix is telling
my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After
nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is
bliss."

[27] Cypher knows that the
matrix is not real and that any pleasures he experiences
there are illusory. Yet for him, the
"ignorance" of samsara is preferable to
enlightenment. Denying the reality that he now
experiences beyond the matrix, he uses the double
negative: "I dont want to remember nothing.
Nothing. And I want to be rich. Someone important. Like
an actor." Not only does Cypher want to forget the
"nothing" of true reality, but he also wants to
be an "actor," to add another level of illusion
to the illusion of the matrix that he is choosing to
re-enter.39 The draw of samsara is so strong that
not only does Cypher give in to his cravings, but Mouse
also may be said to have been overwhelmed by the lures of
samsara, since his death is at least in part due
to distractions brought on by his sexual fantasies about
the "woman in the red dress" which occupy him
when he is supposed to be standing alert.

[28] Whereas Cypher and
Mouse represent what happens when one gives in to samsara,
the rest of the crew epitomize the restraint and
composure praised by the Buddha. The scene shifts
abruptly from the restaurant to the mess hall of the
Nebuchadnezzar, where instead of being offered brandy,
cigars and steak, Neo is given the "bowl of
snot" which is to be his regular meal from that
point forward. In contrast to the pleasures which for
Cypher can only be fulfilled in the matrix, Neo and the
crew must be content with the "single-celled protein
combined with synthetic aminos, vitamins, and
minerals" which Dozer claims is "everything the
body needs." Clad in threadbare clothes, subsisting
on gruel, and sleeping in bare cells, the crew is
depicted enacting the Middle Way taught by the Buddha,
allowing neither absolute asceticism nor indulgence to
distract them from their work.40

[29] The Solution of
Knowledge/Enlightenment. This duality between the
matrix and the reality beyond it sets up the ultimate
goal of the rebels, which is to free all minds from the
matrix and allow humans to live out their lives in the
real world beyond. In making this point, the film-makers
draw on both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist ideas.41 Alluding to the Theravada ideal of the arhat,
the film suggests that enlightenment is achieved through
individual effort.42 As his initial guide, Morpheus makes it clear
that Neo cannot depend upon him for enlightenment.
Morpheus explains, "no one can be told what the
matrix is. You have to see it for yourself."
Morpheus tells Neo he must make the final shift in
perception entirely on his own. He says: "Im
trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you
the door. Youre the one that has to walk through
it." For Theravada Buddhists, "mans
emancipation depends on his own realization of the Truth,
and not on the benevolent grace of a god or any external
power as a reward for his obedient good behavior."43 The Dhammapada urges the one seeking
enlightenment to "Free thyself from the past, free
thyself from the future, free thyself from the present.
Crossing to the farther shore of existence, with mind
released everywhere, no more shalt thou come to birth and
decay."44 As Morpheus says to Neo, "Theres a
difference between knowing the path and walking the
path." And as the Buddha taught his followers,
"You yourselves should make the effort; the Awakened
Ones are only teachers."45 As one
already on the path to enlightenment, Morpheus is only a
guide; ultimately Neo must recognize the truth for
himself.

[30] Yet The Matrix
also embraces ideas found in Mahayana Buddhism,
especially in its particular concern for liberation for
all people through the guidance of those who remain in samsara
and postpone their own final enlightenment in order to
help others as bodhisattvas.46 The crew
members of the Nebuchadnezzar epitomize this compassion.
Rather than remain outside of the matrix where they are
safer, they choose to re-enter it repeatedly as
ambassadors of knowledge with the ultimate goal of
freeing the minds and eventually also the bodies of those
who are trapped within the Matrixs digital web. The
film attempts to blend the Theravada ideal of the arhat
with the Mahayana ideal of the bodhisattva,
presenting the crew as concerned for those still stuck in
the matrix and willing to re-enter the matrix to help
them, while simultaneously arguing that final realization
is an individual process.

[31] Neo as the
Buddha. Although the entire crew embodies
the ideals of the bodhisattva, the filmmakers set
Neo apart as unique, suggesting that while the crew may
be looked at as arhats and bodhisattvas,
Neo can be seen as a Buddha. Neos identity as the
Buddha is reinforced not only through the anagram of his
name but also through the myth that surrounds him. The
oracle has foretold the return of one who has the ability
to manipulate the matrix. As Morpheus explains, the
return of this man "would hail the destruction of
the matrix, end the war, bring freedom to our people.
That is why there are those of us who have spent our
entire lives searching the matrix, looking for him."
Neo, Morpheus believes, is a reincarnation of that man
and like the Buddha, he will be endowed with
extraordinary powers to aid in the enlightenment of all
humanity.

[32] The idea that Neo can
be seen as a reincarnation of the Buddha is reinforced by
the prevalence of birth imagery in the film directly
related to him. At least four incarnations are
perceptible in the film. The first birth took place in
the pre-history of the film, in the life and death of the
first enlightened one who was able to control the matrix
from within. The second consists of Neos life as
Thomas Anderson. The third begins when Neo emerges,
gasping, from the gel of the eerily stupa-like pod in
which he has been encased, and is unplugged and dropped
through a large black tube which can easily be seen as a
birth canal.47 He emerges at the bottom bald, naked, and
confused, with eyes that Morpheus tells him have
"never been used" before. Having
"died" to the world of the matrix, Neo has been
"reborn" into the world beyond it. Neos
fourth life begins after he dies and is
"reborn" again in the closing scenes of the
film, as Trinity resuscitates him with a kiss.48 At this point, Neo perceives not only the
limitations of the matrix, but also the limitations of
the world of the Nebuchadnezzar, since he overcomes death
in both realms. Like the Buddha, his enlightenment grants
him omniscience and he is no longer under the power of
the matrix, nor is he subject to birth, death, and
rebirth within A.I.s mechanical construct.49

[33] Neo, like the Buddha,
seeks to be free from the matrix and to teach others how
to free themselves from it as well, and any use of
superhuman powers are engaged to that end. As the only
human being since the first enlightened one who is able
to freely manipulate the software of the matrix from
within its confines, Neo represents the actualization of
the Buddha-nature, one who can not only recognize the
"origin of pain in the world of living beings,"
but who can also envision "the stopping of the
pain," enacting "that course which leads to its
stopping."51 In this sense, he is more than his bodhisattva
companions, and offers the hope of awakening and
freedom for all humans from the ignorance that binds
them.

[34] The Problem of
Nirvana. But what happens when the matrixs
version of reality is dissolved? Buddhism teaches that
when samsara is transcended, nirvana is
attained. The notion of self is completely lost, so that
conditional reality fades away, and what remains, if
anything, defies the ability of language to describe. In
his re-entry into the matrix, however, Neo retains the
"residual self-image" and the "mental
projection of [a] digital self." Upon
"enlightenment," he finds himself not in nirvana,
or no-where, but in a different place with an
intact, if somewhat confused, sense of self which
strongly resembles his "self" within the
matrix. Trinity may be right that the matrix "cannot
tell you who you are," but who you are seems to be
at least in some sense related to who you think you are
in the matrix. In other words, there is enough continuity
in self-identity between the world of the matrix and
"the desert of the real" that it seems probable
that the authors are implying that full
"enlightenment" has not yet been reached and
must lie beyond the reality of the Nebuchadnezzar and the
world it inhabits. If the Buddhist paradigm is followed
to its logical conclusions, then we have to expect at
least one more layer of "reality" beyond the
world of the crew, since even freed from the matrix they
are still subject to suffering and death and still
exhibit individual egos.

[35] This idea is
reinforced by what may be the most problematic alteration
which The Matrix makes to traditional Buddhist
teachings. The Buddhist doctrine of ahimsa, or
non-injury to all living beings, is overtly contradicted
in the film.52 It appears as if the filmmakers deliberately
chose to link violence with salvific knowledge, since
there seems to be no way that the crew could succeed
without the help of weaponry. When Tank asks Neo and
Trinity what they need for their rescue of Morpheus
"besides a miracle," their reply is
instantaneous: "Guns -- lots of guns." The
writers could easily have presented the
"deaths" of the agents as nothing more than the
ending of that particular part of the software program.
Instead, the Wachowski brothers have purposefully chosen
to portray humans as innocent victims of the violent
deaths of the agents.53 This outright violation of ahimsa stands
at direct odds with the Buddhist ideal of compassion.

[36] But why link
knowledge so directly with violence? The filmmakers
portray violence as redemptive,54 and as
absolutely essential to the success of the rebels. The
Matrix steers sharply away at this point from the
shared paradigms of Buddhism and Gnostic Christianity.
The "reality" of the matrix which requires that
some humans must die as victims of salvific violence is
not the ultimate reality to which Buddhism or Gnostic
Christianity points. Neither the "stillness" of
the pleroma nor the unchanging "nothingness" of
nirvana are characterized by the dependence on
technology and the use of force which so characterizes both
of the worlds of the rebels in The Matrix.

[37] The films
explicit association of knowledge with violence strongly
implies that Neo and his comrades have not yet realized
the ultimate reality. According to the worldviews of both
Gnostic Christianity and Buddhism that the film evokes,
the realization of ultimate reality involves a complete
freedom from the material realm and offers peace of mind.
The Wachowskis themselves acknowledge that it is
"ironic that Morpheus and his crew are completely
dependent upon technology and computers, the very evils
against which they are fighting."55 Indeed, the films very existence depends
upon both technologys capabilities and
Hollywoods hunger for violence. Negating itself, The
Matrix teaches that nirvana is still beyond
our reach.

Concluding
Remarks

[38] Whether we view the
film from a Gnostic Christian or Buddhist perspective,
the overwhelming message seems to be, "Wake
up!" The point is made explicit in the final song of
the film, Wake Up!, by, appropriately, Rage
Against the Machine. Gnosticism, Buddhism and the film
all agree that ignorance enslaves us in an illusory
material world and that liberation comes through
enlightenment with the aid of a teacher or guide figure.
However, when we ask the question, "To what do
we awaken?", the film appears to diverge sharply
from Gnosticism and Buddhism. Both of these traditions
maintain that when humans awaken, they leave behind the
material world. The Gnostic ascends at death to the
pleroma, the divine plane of spiritual, non-material
existence, and the enlightened one in Buddhism achieves nirvana,
a state which cannot be described in language, but which
is utterly non-material. By contrast, the "desert of
the real," is a wholly material, technological
world, in which robots grow humans for energy, Neo can
learn martial arts in seconds through a socket inserted
into the back of his brain, and technology battles
technology (Nebuchadnezzar vs. A.I., electromagnetic
pulse vs. sentinels). Moreover, the battle against the
matrix is itself made possible through technology - cell
phones, computers, software training programs.
"Waking up" in the film is leaving behind the
matrix and awakening to a dismal cyber-world, which is
the real material world.

[39] Or perhaps not. There
are several cinematic clues in the scene of the construct
loading program (represented by white space) that suggest
that the "desert of the real" Morpheus shows
Neo may not be the ultimate reality. After all, Morpheus,
whose name is taken from the god of dreams, shows the
"real" world to Neo, who never directly views
the surface world himself. Rather, he sees it on a
television bearing the logo "Deep Image."
Throughout the film, reflections in mirrors and Morpheus'
glasses, as well as images on television monitors point
the viewer toward consideration of multiple levels of
illusion.56 As the camera zooms in to the picture on this
particular television and the viewer "enters"
the image, it "morphs" the way the surveillance
screens do early in the film, indicating its unreality.
In addition, the entire episode takes place while they
stand in a construct loading program in which Neo is
warned not to be tricked by appearances. Although sense
perception is clearly not a reliable source for
establishing reality, Morpheus himself admits that
"For a long time I wouldn't believe it, and then I
saw the fields [of humans grown for energy] with
my own eyes... And standing there, I came to realize the
obviousness of the truth." We will have to await
the sequel to find out whether "the desert of the
real" is itself real.57

[40] Even if the film
series does not ultimately establish a complete rejection
of the material realm, The Matrix as it stands
still asserts the superiority of the human capacity for
imagination and realization over the limited
"intelligence" of technology. Whether stated in
terms of matter/ spirit, body/ mind, hardware/ software
or illusion/ truth, the ultimate message of The Matrix
seems to be that there may be levels of metaphysical
reality beyond what we can ordinarily perceive, and the
film urges us to open ourselves to the possibility of
awakening to them.

Notes

1. All unidentified quotes are from The Matrix
(Warner Bros. release, 1999).

2. In an online chat with viewers of the DVD, the
Wachowskis acknowledged that the Buddhist references in
the film are purposeful. However, when asked "Have
you ever been told that the Matrix has Gnostic
overtones?", they gave a tantalizingly ambiguous
reply: "Do you consider that to be a good
thing?" From the Nov. 6, 1999 "Matrix Virtual
Theatre," at "Wachowski chat".

3. Elaine Pagels notes that the similarities
between Gnosticism and Buddhism have prompted some
scholars to question their interdependence and to wonder
whether "...if the names were changed, the 'living
Buddha' appropriately could say what the Gospel of
Thomas attributes to the living Jesus. "
Although intriguing, she rightly maintains that the
evidence is inconclusive, since parallel traditions may
emerge in different cultures without direct influence.
Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, (New York:
Random House, 1979, repr. 1989), xx-xxi

.4. James Ford recently
explored other Buddhist elements in The Matrix,
which he rightly calls a "modern myth," in his
article "Buddhism, Christianity and The Matrix:
The Dialectic of Myth-Making in Contemporary
Cinema," for the Journal of Religion and Film,
vol.4 no. 2. See also Conrad Ostwalt's focus on
apocalyptic elements of the film in "Armageddon
at the Millennial Dawn," JRF vol. 4, no. 1.

5. A viewer asked the Wachowski brothers,
"Your movie has many and varied connections to myths
and philosophies, Judeo-Christian, Egyptian, Arthurian,
and Platonic, just to name those I've noticed. How much
of that was intentional?" They replied, "All of
it" (Wachowski chat).

6. Feminists critics can rejoice when Trinity
first reveals her name to Neo, as he pointedly responds,
"The Trinity?... Jesus, I thought you were a
man." Her quick reply: "Most men do."

7. The Wachowski brothers indicate that the names
were "all chosen carefully, and all of them have
multiple meanings," and also note this applies to
the numbers as well (Wachowski chat).

8. In a recent interview in Time, the
Wachowskis refer to Nebuchadnezzar in this Danielic
context,
(www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,22971,00.html
, "Popular Metaphysics," by Richard Corliss, Time,
April 19, 1999 Vol. 153, no. 15). Nebuchadnezzar is
also the Babylonian king who destroyed the Jerusalem
Temple in 586 B.C.E., and who exiled the elite of Judean
society to Babylon. Did the Wachowski brothers also
intend the reference to point to the crew's
"exile" from Zion or from the surface world?

9. The film also suggests Zion is heaven, such as
when Tank says, "If the war was over tomorrow, Zion
is where the party would be," evoking the
traditional Christian schema of an apocalypse followed by
life in heaven or paradise. Ironically, the film locates
Zion "underground, near the earth's core, where it
is still warm," which would seem to be a cinematic
code for hell. Is this a clue that Zion is not the
"heaven" we are led to believe it is?

10. Neo's apartment number is 101, symbolizing
both computer code (written in 1's and 0's) and his role
as "the One." Near the end of the film, 303 is
the number of the apartment that he enters and exits in
his death / resurrection scene, evoking the Trinity. This
in turn raises questions about the character of Trinity's
relationship to Neo in terms of her cinematic
construction as divinity.

11. The traitor Cypher, who represents Judas
Iscariot, among other figures, ironically says to Neo,
"Man, you scared the B'Jesus outta me."

12. We would like to thank Donna Bowman, with whom
we initially explored the Gnostic elements of The
Matrix during a public lecture on film at Hendrix
College in 2000.

13. Gnosticism may have had its origins in
Judaism, despite its denigration of the Israelite God,
but the issue is complex and still debated within
scholarly circles. It is clear, however, that Gnostic
Christianity flourished from at least the 2nd
-5th c. C.E., with its own scriptures, and
most likely also its own distinctive rituals, entrance
requirements and a creation story. See Gershom Scholem, Jewish
Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition (New
York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1960),
Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels (New York:
Vintage Books, 1979, repr. 1989), Bentley Layton,
The Gnostic Scriptures (New York: Doubleday, 1995),
Kurt Rudolph, Gnosis: The Nature and History of
Gnosticism (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1987).

14. This corpus lay dormant for nearly 2000 years
until its discovery in 1945 in Nag Hammadi, Egypt. The
complete collection of texts may be found in James M.
Robinson, ed. The Nag Hammadi Library, revised
edition, (New York: HarperCollins, 1990; reprint of
original Brill edition, 1978). These documents are also
available on-line at The Nag Hammadi Library Section of The Gnostic Society Library.

15. Gnostic texts are cryptic, and no single text
clearly explains this myth from beginning to end. The
literature presupposes familiarity with the myth, which
must be reconstructed by modern readers. The version of
the myth presented here relies on such texts as Gospel
of Truth, Apocryphon of John, On the Origin of the World and
Gospel of Thomas. See The Nag Hammadi Library,
pp. 38-51, 104-123, 124-138, 170-189.

16. Since the divine beings are composed only of
spiritual substances and not matter, there are no
physical gender differences among the beings.

18. Humanity's characterization also resonates
with the Tower of Babel story in Genesis 11:1-9; in both
we admire the work of our own hands.

19. The bulk of the following excerpt from the
Gnostic "Gospel of Truth" might just as well be
taken from the scenes in The Matrix in which
Morpheus explains the nature of reality to Neo:

Thus they [ humans]
were ignorant of the Father, he being the one
whom they did not see... there were many illusions
at work... and (there were) empty fictions, as if
they were sunk in sleep and found themselves in
disturbing dreams. Either (there is) a place to
which they are fleeing, or without strength they come
(from) having chased after others, or they are
involved in striking blows, or they are receiving
blows themselves, or they have fallen from high
places, or they take off into the air though they
do not even have wings. Again, sometimes (it is
as) if people were murdering them, though there is no
one even pursuing them, or they themselves are
killing their neighbors...(but) When those who are
going through all these things wake up, they see
nothing, they who were in the midst of all these
disturbances, for they are nothing. Such is the way
of those who have cast ignorance aside from them like
sleep, not esteeming it as anything, nor do they
esteem its works as solid things either, but they
leave them behind like a dream in the night...
This is the way each one has acted, as though asleep
at the time when he was ignorant. And this is the way
he has [come to knowledge], as if he had awakened.
(Gospel of Truth, 29-30)

20. This is perhaps most evident in the subway
fight between Neo and Agent Smith. At a point in the film
when Morpheus says of Neo, "He is just beginning to
believe," Agent Smith calls him "Mr.
Anderson," and while fighting he replies, "My
name is Neo." The Wachowskis confirm this
interpretation when they state "Neo is Thomas
Anderson's potential self" (Wachowski chat).

21. This twin tradition was especially popular in
Syrian Christianity. See also Pagels, p. xxi, where she
wonders if the tradition that Thomas, Jesus' twin, went
to India points to any historical connection between
Buddhism and Hinduism on the one hand and with Gnosticism
on the other.

23. Nag Hammadi Library, pp. 490-500.
Compare the Gnostic idea of stillness with these Buddhist
sayings from the Dhammapada: "The bhikku
[monk], who abides in loving-kindness, who is delighted
in the Teaching of the Buddha, attains the State of Calm,
the happiness of stilling the conditioned things"
and "Calm is the thought, calm the word and deed of
him who, rightly knowing, is wholly freed, perfectly
peaceful and equipoised. " Quoted in Walpola Sri
Rahula, What the Buddha Taught (New York: Grove
Weidenfeld, 1974) p.128, 136.

24. See Nag Hammadi Library, pp. 256-59. We
are grateful to Brock Bakke for the initial equation of
agents with archons.

25. In Gnosticism "Mind" or the Greek
"nous" is a deity, such as in the text
"Thunder, Perfect Mind," Nag Hammadi Library,
295-303.

26. Note that as Morpheus and Neo enter the
elevator of the apartment building of the Oracle, images
of "seeing" symbolize prophecy and knowledge: a
blind man (evoking blind prophets such as Tiresias) sits
in the lobby beneath some graffiti depicting a pair of
eyes. Interestingly, the Oracle - a sibyl / seer - wears
glasses to look at Neo's palm.

27. Note too the metonymic use of color to convey
this dualism: black and white clothing, floors,
furniture, etc.

28. Ostwalt, "Armageddon" in JRF
Vol. 4, no. 1. The parallel with apocalypticism does not
work quite as well as one with Gnosticism because like
Gnosticism, the film understands salvation to be
individual (rather than collective and occurring all at
once), to be attained through knowledge, and most
importantly to entail leaving behind the material earth
(that is, not resulting in a kingdom of God made manifest
on the earth).

http://www.viewfromthewall.com/matrixscreenplay.htm

29. The original screenplay is available online at
www.geocities.com/Area51/Capsule/8448/. In its description, the Temple of Zion evokes
both the Oracle of Delphi (three legged stool,
priestesses) and the Jerusalem Temple (polished marble,
empty throne which is the mercy seat or throne of the
invisible God).

30. A viewer asked the Wachowski brothers,
"What is the role or {sic} faith in the movie? Faith
in oneself first and foremost  or in something
else?" They answered, "Hmmmm¼that is a
tough question! Faith in one's self, how's that for an
answer?" This reply hardly settles the issue
(Wachowski chat).

31. Specifically, these humans are Neo (the
Gnostic Redeemer / Messiah) and Morpheus and Trinity,
both of whom are named for gods. As a godhead, this trio
does not quite make sense in terms of traditional
Christianity. However, the trio is quite interesting in
the context of Gnosticism, which portrays God as Father,
Mother and Son, a trinity in which the Holy Spirit is
identified as female, e.g. Apocryphon of John
2:9-14. For further reading on female divinities in
Gnosticism, see Pagels, pp. 48-69.

32. The brothers explain, "There's something
uniquely interesting about Buddhism and mathematics,
particularly about quantum physics, and where they meet.
That has fascinated us for a long time" (Wachowski
chat). In the Time interview with Richard Corliss
(see note 8), Larry Wachowski adds that they became
fascinated "by the idea that math and theology are
almost the same. They begin with a supposition you can
derive a whole host of laws or rules from. And when you
take all of them to the infinity point, you wind up at
the same place: these unanswerable mysteries really
become about personal perception. Neo's journey is
affected by all these rules, all these people trying to
tell him what the truth is. He doesn't accept anything
until he gets to his own end point, his own
rebirth." The films presentation of the matrix
as a corporate network of human conceptions (or samsara)
which are translated into software codes that reinforce
one another illustrates this close relationship.

33. Stupa: a hemispherical or cylindrical mound or
tower serving as a Buddhist shrine.

34. Of course, the most transparent reference to
Buddhist ideas occurs in the waiting room at the
oracles apartment, where Neo is introduced to the
"Potentials." The screenplay describes the
waiting room as "at once like a Buddhist temple and
a kindergarten class." One of the children, clad in
the garb of a Buddhist monk, explains to Neo the nature
of ultimate reality: "There is no spoon." One
cannot help wondering if this dictum only holds within
the matrix or if there is in fact "no spoon"
even in the real world beyond it.

37. The entire process depends upon human
ignorance, so that almost all who are born into the
matrix are doomed to be born, to die, and to re-enter the
cycle again. When asked about the films depiction
of the liquefaction of humans, the Wachowskis reply that
this black ooze is "what they feed the people in the
pods, the dead people are liquefied and fed to the living
people in the pods." Tongue in Buddhist cheek, the
brothers explain this re-embodiment: "Always
recycle! It's a statement on recycling."38 Even in the "real world" beyond the
matrix, the human plight is depicted as a relative and
inter-dependent cycle of birth, death, and
"recycling."

39. This dialogue also points to the
"reality" (or the "matrix") which we
ourselves inhabit. In our world, and in the world of Joe
Pantoliano, he is an actor. Therefore, the world
of which both the actor Joe Pantoliano and we are now a
part may be seen as the "matrix" into which he
has been successfully re-inserted, and thus the film
itself may be seen as a part of the software program of
our own "matrix." The argument, of course, is
seductively circular.

40. Take, for example, this quote from the Sabbasava-sutta:
"A bhikku [monk], considering wisely, lives with his
eyes restrained . . . Considering wisely, he lives with
his ears restrained . . . with his nose restrained . . .
with his tongue . . . with his body . . . with his mind
restrained . . . a bhikku, considering wisely, makes use
of his robes -- only to keep off cold, to keep off heat .
. and to cover himself decently. Considering wisely, he
makes use of food  neither for pleasure nor for
excess . . . but only to support and sustain this body .
. ." (Quoted in Rahula 103).

41. James Ford has argued that the film embodies
in particular the Yogacara school of Buddhism. Instead of
pointing to that which is absolutely different than the
world as nirvana, Yogacarins point to the world
itself, and through the processes enacted in meditation,
come to the realization that "all things and thought
are but Mind-only. The basis of all our illusions
consists in that we regard the objectifications of our
own mind as a world independent of that mind, which is
really its source and substance" (Edward Conze, Buddhism.
New York: Philosophical Library, 1959), p. 167. The
matrix exists only in the minds of the human beings which
inhabit it, so that in The Matrix, as in Yogacara,
"The external world is really Mind itself" (p.
168). Yet a problem arises when one realizes that for the
Yogacara school, the Mind is the ultimate reality,
and therefore samsara and nirvana become
identified. By contrast, the film insists on a distinction
between samsara (the matrix) and nirvana
(that which lies beyond it). Because The Matrix
maintains a duality between the matrix and the realm
beyond it, Yogacara is of limited help in making sense of
the Buddhist elements in the film, nor is it helpful in
supporting the idea that beyond the matrix and beyond the
Nebuchadnezzar there is an ultimate reality not yet
realized by humans (see note 4).

42. According to Theravada teachings, arhat
("Worthy One")is a title applied to those who
achieve enlightenment. Because according to Theravada
beliefs enlightenment can only be achieved through
individual effort, an arhat is of limited aid in
helping those not yet enlightened and so would not
necessarily choose to re-enter samsara to aid
others still enmeshed within it.

46. A bodhisattva is one who postpones
final entry into nirvana and willingly re-enters
or remains in samsara in order to guide others
along the path to enlightenment. The Buddhas
compassion serves as their primary model for Mahayana
Buddhists, since they point out that he too remained in samsara
in order to help others achieve enlightenment through his
teachings and example.

47. The screenplay describes Neo as "floating
in a womb-red amnion" in the power plant.

48. In the screenplay, Trinity does not kiss him
but instead "pounds on his chest,"
precipitating his resuscitation. The screenplay states
directly: "It is a miracle." This fourth
"life" can be viewed as the one to which the
oracle refers in her predictions that Neo was
"waiting for something" and that he might be
ready in his "next life, maybe." This certainly
appears to be the case, since Neo rises from the dead and
defeats the agents.

49. These four "lives" suggest that Neo
is nothing other than the "One" foretold by the
oracle, the reincarnation of the first "enlightened
one," or Buddha, who "had the ability to change
whatever he wanted, to remake the matrix as he saw
fit." Buddhist teaching allows that those who have
been enlightened are endowed with magical powers, since
they recognize the world as illusory and so can
manipulate it at will. Yet supernatural powers are
incidental to the primary goal, which is explained in the
very first sermon spoken by the Buddha: "The Noble
Truth of the cessation of suffering is this: It is the
complete cessation of that very thirst, giving it up,
renouncing it, emancipating oneself from it, detaching
oneself from it"50

52. See, for example, in the Dhammapada:
"Of death are all afraid. Having made oneself the
example, one should neither slay nor cause to slay"
(Verse 129) (Dhammapada, trans. John Ross Carter
and Mahinda Palihawadana. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1987), p. 35.

53. The idea that violence as salvific is made
explicit by the writers. Whereas they could have
chosen to present the "deaths" of the agents as
of the same illusory quality as other elements within the
software program, instead, they choose to depict actual
humans really dying through the inhabitation
of their "bodies" by the agents. This addition
is completely unnecessary to the overall plot line;
indeed, the "violence" which takes place in the
Niko Hotel could still be portrayed, with the reassuring
belief that any "deaths" which occur there are
simply computer blips. The fact that the writers so
purposefully insist that actual human beings die (i.e.
die also within the power plant) while serving as
involuntary "vessels" for the agents strongly
argues for The Matrixs direct association of
violence with the knowledge required for salvation.

54. See the article by Bryan P. Stone,
"Religion and Violence in Popular Film," JRF
Vol. 3, no. 1.

56. This is especially true in the "red
pill/blue pill" scene where Neo first meets
Morpheus, and Neo is reflected differently in each lens
of Morpheus' glasses. The Wachowskis note that one
reflection represents Thomas Anderson, and one represents
Neo (Wachowski chat).

57. A viewer asked the pertinent question of the
Wachowskis: "Do you believe that our world is in
some way similar to "The Matrix," that there is
a larger world outside of this existence?" They
replied: "That is a larger question than you
actually might think. We think the most important sort of
fiction attempts to answer some of the big questions. One
of the things that we had talked about when we first had
the idea of The Matrix was an idea that I believe
philosophy and religion and mathematics all try to
answer. Which is, a reconciling between a natural world
and another world that is perceived by our
intellect" (Wachowski chat).